Jersey Boys 20th anniversary UK tour: Review

When a show has been around for 20 years there are two things we know already: one, it’s an audience pleaser and two, it has a string of fans who’ve already seen it multiple times and still come back for more.

I fall into that bracket. Jersey Boys is a musical I’ve seen several times and each time it comes around I still can’t wait to see it again. It opens with ‘December, 1963 (Oh What a Night)’ and that’s what millions of people have been leaving the theatre feeling at the end.

This current UK tour is the show’s 20th anniversary production. After two decades does this musical, that has won 57 major awards across the world, including Best New Musical at Broadway’s Tony, London’s Olivier and Australia’s Helpmann Awards, still live up to the hype?

The strength of the story is what sets this musical apart from many others. Writers Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice spent hours with the real men behind the wild stories, merging their recollections to tell the previously unheard true story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, using the band’s catchy hits as a backdrop to chart their journey from the back streets of New Jersey to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame heroes.

We all love a rags to riches tale, and this one has so much action along the way. There’s gang crime, links to the mob, gambling, prostitution, family breakdown, drugs, tragedy, and at its core a fiercely held belief in New Jersey loyalty. As Nick Massi wryly comments: “Sell 100 million records and see how you handle it”. It’s heavy stuff in parts but that is just one side. This is a show packed with the roller-coaster of life’s emotions and even the smaller roles such as Aidan Carson as an exuberant young Joe Pesci bring a depth of interest and humour to the overall experience.

If you’ve seen it before, the staging is Klara Zieglerova’s original design. It is a simple set made up of a base of multi-layered steel platforms that easily doubles as the fire escape on a Newark tenement and the rigging of a concert stage which comes realistically to life with huge overhead screen projections as the band take to the stage.

It’s a slick show packed with hit after hit, including ‘Sherry’, ‘Walk Like A Man’, ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’, ‘My Eyes Adored You’, ‘Let’s Hang On (To What We’ve Got)’, ‘Bye Bye Baby’, ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’, ‘Working My Way Back to You’, and ‘Rag Doll’.

Of course, even such solid foundations could falter without a strong cast to bring the characters to life. Luke Baker wows the audience as Frankie Valli, growing convincingly from a 16-year-old kid conned into crime to a confident, slick-suited superstar; making us believe in and feel for Valli as a world-famous singer with a soaring falsetto voice as well as a human being with all his vulnerabilities and flaws. His star quality shines and rightly gets a full standing ovation at end.

But this is by no means a one-man show, and much of its strength comes from the rich depth with which all four band members are drawn, each telling the story from their unique perspective. Lewis Kennedy as bass-player Nick Massi brings relatable humanity and humour to a figure who could easily be cast into the shadows as the ‘Ringo’ of the band. Carlo Boumouglbay convincingly adds a glimpse into the dark New Jersey underworld as the wide-boy guitarist Tommy DeVito with Mafia links; while Toby Miles captures both the relative innocence and sensible business-head of young whizz-kid songwriter and keyboardist, Bob Gaudio. When the four take to the stage concert-style, the audience erupts as if seeing the real thing and the atmosphere is electric.

There is so much richness in this show, it’s easy to see why audiences come back over and over again. This UK Tour is as good as it ever was. If you’ve not seen it before, go. If you have seen it before, go back. It has all the drama of Hollywood wrapped in constant stream of nostalgic, uplifting hits. Two decades on it is still the hottest ticket in town.

Jersey Boys is at the Palace Theatre, Manchester from 7-19 September before continuing on tour. Age guidance: 12+, parental guidance advised. Jersey Boys contains genuine New Jersey language which may not be suitable for younger audiences. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult (18+).